Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Community Comment

Words of the day — manifesto

Good evening, Netizens...

February 23, 2013

Word of the Day

  • manifesto
  • audio pronunciation
  • \man-uh-FESS-toh\
  • DEFINITION
  •  

noun

: a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer
  • EXAMPLES
  •  

On the day of his sudden departure from the company, Rick posted an angry manifesto on the bulletin board outlining his reasons for leaving.

"Mr. Eddie Lampert, the chairman of Sears Holdings and mastermind of the Kmart/Sears merger … famously published a 15-page manifesto in 2009 which covered everything from the economic meltdown to civil liberties, and contained a suggested reading list that included free-market Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek." — From an article by Mary Jane Quirk in Consumerist, January 8, 2013

  • DID YOU KNOW?
  •  

"Manifesto" is related to "manifest," which occurs in English as a noun, verb, and adjective. Of these, the adjective, which means "readily perceived by the senses" or "easily recognized," is oldest, dating to the 14th century. Both "manifest" and "manifesto" derive ultimately from the Latin noun "manus" ("hand") and "-festus," a combining form that is related to the Latin adjective "infestus," meaning "hostile." Something that is manifest is easy to perceive or recognize, and a "manifesto" is a statement in which someone makes his or her intentions or views easy for people to ascertain. Perhaps the most famous statement of this sort is the Communist Manifesto, written in 1848 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to outline the platform of the Communist League.

From Merriam-Webster Online at www.Merriam-Webster.com.

 

Dave



Spokesman-Review readers blog about news and issues in Spokane written by Dave Laird.